Transcript for Another Showdown on the Senate Floor and President says, "Enough is Enough"

about a firestorm brewing tonight. We know americans are tired of gridlock in washington, but today senate democrats made a power move to break the hold of the filibuster, that stalling technique we remember from jimmy stewart in mr. Smith goes to washington. The president said enough is enough and abc news chief white house correspondent jonathan karl now tells us what began happening right away. Reporter: For more than a century, the filibuster, im mortgagized in the movie mr. Smith goes to washington has empowered the minority party in the senate to bring everything to a halt just by talking. I can hold this floor almost unless doomsday. In other words I have a piece to speak. Reporter: At a tackic republicans are using more than ever. From rand paul who tried to block the president's pick to run the cia to ted cruz who talked nearly 22 hours straight against obama care. Republicans are now blocking addresses of president obama's nominees. But today in a controversial and historic move, referred to as the nuclear option, democrats changed the rules, ending the filibuster when it comes to most presidential nominees. Minutes later they moved forward on one obama nominee who had been blocked for almost six months. A simple majority vote no longer seems to be sufficient for anything that enough is enough. Reporter: But republicans called it a naked power grab. We are approaching a slippery slope that will destroy the very unique aspect of this institution called the united states senate. Reporter: Republicans tried but failed to do away with the filibuster back when george w. Bush was president. Then a freshman senator named barack obama opposed the move. Diane, he is about to find out if he was right.

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